NewsletterVol.2.No-6. 3rd Quarter. Liberian Legislature Supports Gender Equality UN WOMEN LIBERIA EMPOWER WOMEN TRANSFORM A NATION

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1 Media Inquiries Winston Daryoue, +231-(0) (0) NewsletterVol.2.No-6 Dear Readers, UN WOMEN LIBERIA EMPOWER WOMEN TRANSFORM A NATION It is an honor to again present to you this Third Quarter Edition of the UN Women Liberia Newsletter. With your support, UN Women has accelerated its programme delivery; expanded its reach to more vulnerable women; and built strategic partnerships for positioning the gender agenda in ongoing national policy and reform processes. While challenges remain in bridging the gender inequality gap in Liberia, it is safe to mention that progress is certain. The necessary frameworks for addressing the socio-economic, political and cultural barriers which limit women s potential to crawl out of poverty and break the circle of violence and discrimination are being re-established and or strengthened. In the last quarter, immense strides were made in engaging relevant stakeholders soliciting their commitments and raising the level of awareness on gender equality. Key highlights of the quarter include: securing the women s Minimum Agenda in the propositions from the constitutional review process; soliciting the National Legislature s endorsement of the HeForShe Campaign; and providing post-ebola support for the operationalization of peace huts and women s networks across Liberia. As the global champion for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, UN Women has worked closely with the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection in supporting and building the capacities of national gender machineries and grassroots women s networks. As we enter the final quarter of the year, UN Women Liberia counts on your continued support to the achievement of gender equality. Together we can make this happen. Please enjoy your reading and feel free to provide any feedback as your comments and suggestions could certainly help improve the quality of our work. Yours Sincerely, Awa Ndiaye Seck Country Representative, UN Women Liberian Legislature Supports Gender Equality 3rd Quarter (Jul-Sep) 2015 Liberian Legislature Supports Gender Equality Using Sports to Promote Women s Rights Liberian International Movie Star Becomes a HeForShe Tracking the Women s Minimum Agenda in Liberia s Constitutional Reform What is Orange Day? 3rd Quarter in Photos Building a House from $ 20 Dollars Joint Field Assessment and Support Mission UN Women, H&G Plaza, 4th Floor, Sekou-Toure Avenue, Mamba Point, Monrovia, Liberia 01

2 Liberian Legislature Supports Gender Equality Signs HeForShe Commitment Monrovia Members of the 53rd Liberian National Legislature have joined the HeForShe Campaign, pledging to take actions for the advancement of gender equality in Liberia. During an event held at the seat of the Legislature on Capitol Hill in Monrovia the Speaker of the House of Representatives Alex Tyler recognized the contributions of women in building safer and economically vibrant societies around the world. Speaker Tyler said the HeForShe Campaign provides the platform for men to take ownership of efforts aimed at protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls. Every time the conversation of women s empowerment is brought to the fore, the discussion has always centered on governance. The HeForShe Campaign however takes it to another level. Speaker Tyler said: The next level to which we must take the HeForShe Campaign is about economically empowering women so that they can lead the way in the political governance of Liberia. House Speaker Alex Tyler signs the HeForShe Committment on behalf of the National Legislature Attended by the UN Women Liberia Representative Awa Ndiaye Seck, several other prominent members of the Liberian Legislature graced the event including, the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate Armah Jallah, former FIFA World Best Player and soccer icon who is now Senator of Montserrado County George Weah, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Hans Barchue, the Chairman of the Women s Legislative Caucus Senator Jewel Howard Taylor amongst others. 02

3 Liberian Legislature Supports Gender Equality In her remarks at the event, UN Women Liberia Representative Awa Ndiaye Seck congratulated the Liberian Legislature for joining the HeForShe solidarity campaign and for committing to champion the cause of women and girls. Third from left, UN Women Representative Awa Ndiaye Seck along with some members of the Legislature Today is a day which not only demonstrates the commitment of this August body to ensuring that Liberian women and girls live in a safer society, but it acknowledges and celebrates all men in this 53rd Legislature for taking a real action to address the position of women in Liberia, said Madam Seck. In June 2015, Liberia s Vice President Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai launched the HeForshe Campaign and since then UN Women Liberia has accelerated progress on achieving the goal of the campaign through a number of public outreach and awareness events. Liberia now has the highest number of men in African who have signed the online pledge. HeForShe is a global solidarity movement that calls upon men and boys to take action and advocate for gender equality. The campaign strengthens the support for women s rights as human rights, by enlisting men as advocates for gender equality. 03

4 Liberian International Movie Star Becomes a HeForShe Fresh from winning two international accolades at the 5 Continents Awards, Frank Artus the most popular Liberian international movie star has joined the UN Women HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality. Addressing journalists before officially signing the HeForShe commitment in Monrovia, Frank warned Liberians against gender discrimination, especially against women. He said such acts prevent women from participating in national activities and limit their potential. I am honored to officially join the HeForShe Campaign and to announce my support - my involvement, as well as my commitment to all actions that promote gender equality and women empowerment in Liberia and the rest of the world, he told journalists in Monrovia. Award winning Liberian international movie star Fran Artus I strongly believe that women deserve to live in a society free of violence and discrimination, where they can have the same opportunities as men. 04

5 Liberian International Movie Star Becomes a HeForShe The Liberian movie star said it saddens him that the world is still far from reaching a level where all women will enjoy all of their rights. I am committing myself to take any action against gender discrimination and violence in order to build a more just and equal world for women, he note. UN Women Representative Awa Ndiaye Seck and Frank Artus at a Press Conference at UN Women Frank said: for too long we have kept ourselves at the backstage of efforts to promote women rights and we have unfortunately been at the center of most of the acts of violence against women and girls in the society. He urged all men to see the HeForShe Campaign as an opportunity to lead in showing to the world that they are part of the solution. Meanwhile, the Country Representative of UN Women- Liberia, Awa Ndiaye Seck said that the issue of discrimination against women and girls does nothing for the country, but affects their well-being. Madame Ndiaye Seck congratulated Frank for joining the HeForShe Campaign and standing up for gender equality, announcing that he is now an ambassador for women s rights. 05

6 Building a House from $ 20 Dollars The extraordinary story of 27-year old Musu Morlu In the small town of Totoquelleh in Gbarpolu County, one young woman s success in business is generating a wave of competition amongst her peers. Her determination to go beyond the odds and succeed has brought pride to her family. In January 2014, Musu Morlu a 27-year old and mother of three children returned home from the farm to news that dozens of her friends had been recruited to be trained in different skills under the United Nations Joint Programme on Advancing the Rights of Adolescent Girls (JPAG). From managing a business which started with just US $ 20.00, 27-years old Musu Morlu is completing the construction of her house When my friends explained that the people [JPAG Team] were not writing any more names for the training, I was feeling very sad because I really wanted to learn something to be able to take care of my children, Musu explained. Musu s story is a reflection of the hurdles that many young unskilled mothers face across Liberia. A primary school dropout, the fathers of her children are nowhere around. I know can t depend on the fathers of my children because they left all the three children with me and I am struggling to feed them. So i really wanted to learn something to be able to stand on my own. Determined to participate in the training, the next day Musu visited the training center but was told that the class had already reached the maximum intake of thirty students. 06

7 Building a House from $ 20 Dollars The extraordinary story of 27-year old Musu Morlu I begged Joseph Kollie the trainer to allow me sit in the class as an observer even though I did not expect to receive some of the attendance bonus and he agreed. The six-month training was aimed at reaching and empowering the most vulnerable and disadvantaged girls with a full package of services ranging from life skills training including HIV; literacy and numeracy training; business and leadership skills; rural financing training and adolescent friendly sexual and reproductive health services. Musu diligently attended all sessions of the training and completed all assignments. The D-Day the 30 girls except Musu graduated and received US $ each as their attendance bonus. The trainer made a passionate plead with the class to share with Ms. Musu because she is one of their sisters living in the same community. The request was rejected by most of the girls citing that the amount was too small to be shared. But, a small group of five girls saw the situation differently so they jointly contributed and gave Musu the combined sum of US$ Using the knowledge acquired during the training, the 27-year old mother of three invested the US$20.00 in a smal business (buying and selling imported frozen fish). She saved every penny and when her profits increased, Musu purchased a lot of land and began constructing her house using baked bricks and concrete. Her story of persistence has captured the hearts of many in her town and today Musu has become a role model for young women and girls. Musu s three bed room house is nearing completion. Inspired by her courage, dedication and hard work, currenlty two of the JPAG trainees Kpannah Morlu and Kpannah Sumo have begun the construction of their houses. If Musu who was just an observer and received only $ can buy and land and build a house, I am sure I too can do the same or even more, says Kpannah Sumo. Jointly implement by UN Women, UNICEF, UNSECO, WHO and civil society partners, the programme engaged 500 adolescent girls directly in the most disadvantaged communities, and indirectly reached over 7,000 additional girls through mass media and community outreach campaigns. 07

8 Using Sports to Promote Women s Rights at Liberia s 168th Independence Celebrations As part of efforts to extend engagements on issues of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls through the HeForShe Campaign, UN Women in July collaborated with Senior Professionals a group of former Liberian national soccer team players to sponsor the Independence Day Football tournament in Sinoe and Grand Kru Counties. President Ellen Johson Sirleaf being introduced to players of the Grand Gedeh County Team Sports, especially football in Liberia attracts huge followers and is a powerful vehicle for engendering social change. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took the tournament kickoff and was accompanied by several senior Liberian government officials and members of the diplomatic corps including heads of UN agencies in Liberia. Dressed in their HeForShe jerseys and shirts, players in the tournament spread messages which called for the end of all forms of violence and discrimination against women and they helped to mobilize hundreds of men to sign up and take action for the promotion of Gender Equality. It s good to see hundreds of men accepting to take action for women s rights and to see themselves as male champions in this fight. I think a lot of people especially men do not have enough information about gender issuers so it s going to take some time but gradually more men will see themselves as protectors rather than violators of women s rights, says Dionysious Sebwe of Senior Professionals. In addition to the sports events, separate discussions were held by the UN Women delegation headed by Country Representative Ms. Awa Ndiaye Seck with leaders of grassroots women s networks on supporting programmes to help address the post Ebola challenges women face and how to iincrease economic empowerment opportunities for women at the community level. Known as the Senior Professionals former players of Liberia s national soccer team helped raise awareness on women s rights and gender equality 08

9 Tracking the Women s Minimum Agenda in Liberia s Constitutional Reform Following months of consultations and consensus building, Liberia s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has received the final Report on the National Constitution Conference (NCC). The NCC Report contains recommendations to amend portions of the 1986 Liberian Constitution and was presented to President Sirleaf by the Chairperson of the Constitutional Review Committee, Counselor Gloria Scott. Pres. Sirleaf receiving the CRC final report from Cllr. Scott Cllr. Scott reported the excellent cooperation from Ex-officio members, the Governance Commission (GC), Law Reform Commission (LRC) and partners, especially the UN System in Liberia. Emphasizing citizens participation in the review process, including political parties, traditional leaders, women s groups, religious leaders, the media and civil society, Cllr Scott described their role as significant. Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection, the Women NGO Secretariat (WONGOSOL), the Liberia Women Media Action Committee (LIWOMAC) and grassroots women networks, UN Women supported women specific consultations which led to the crafting of the Women s Minimum Agenda to be considered in the review process. 09

10 Tracking the Women s Minimum Agenda in Liberia s Constitutional Reform Amongst several issues, the Women s Minimum Agenda highlights women s rights to personal security and freedom from cruel and degrading treatment, including Sexual and Gender-based Violence against women, Children s rights, marriage and property rights, representation of women in decision making processes and Citizenship were recommended for inclusion into the new constitution. Responding, President Sirleaf thanked the CRC for its excellent work and commended the partners for the support they provided the CRC in executing its mandate. The Liberian leader recalled that Liberia s first two constitutions of 1847 and 1986 reflected the circumstances and desires of the population at the time but said that recognizing that circumstances have changed, one needed to add more in terms of equal opportunity, equity and recognition of the role of the population Over 10,000 Liberians from the 73 constituencies in all 15 counties and Diaspora participated in the public consultations on the constitutional review. 35% of these were women. Over 16,000 views were collated which produced over 52,308 suggestions. 25 of these propositions were taken to the National Constitution Conference (NCC) and voted upon by over 500 delegates from various sectors of the Liberian society. It is expected that the report will be forwarded to the National Legislature and translated into a referendum to be conducted across the country On August 30, 2013, the President of Liberia established the Constitutional Review Committee with the mandate to lead a process that will organize and guide the process of a constitution review for producing appropriate amendments. This mandate by the president include: the formulation of policy, drafting and enactment of legislation and approval by the electorate through referendum. Some of the committee s term of reference include: arranging public discourse and debates on the provisions of constitution, with a view to ensure that the constitution is in harmony with Liberia s post conflict democratic realities and aspirations as well as the crafting Liberian women have been advocating for a more gender sensitive Liberian Constitution. of proposal for amending the constitution, consider as appropriate among other matters, national policies such as the National policy on decentralization and local governance, the establishment of positions of principal administrative officers and other sector reform. 10

11 UN Women Representative and Gender Minister Embark on Joint Field Assessment and Support Mission In August UN Women Representative Ms. Awa Ndiaye Seck and Liberia s Minister of Gender Children and Social Protection Julia Duncan Cassell embarked on the first phase of visits to Peace Huts and women s networks across Liberia. During the visits to Little Bassa, Weala and Tototat Peace Huts, Madam Seck and Minister Cassell convened town hall discussions with women leaders, local government and security officials on best approaches for addressing the post-ebola challenges of women and girls and strengthening collaboration with justice and security institutions. UN Women Liberia Representative Awa Ndaiye Seck and Liberia s Minister of Gender Children and Social Protection alongside members of the Totota Peace Hut Paramount amongst issues raised by women at the various Peace Huts were the provision and reactivation of economic empowerment and skills training opportunities; establishment of safe-homes for survivors of sexual and gender based violence; the renovation of Peace Huts and support to the police to enable them adequately respond to situations concerning the rights of women and girls. The women shared extraordinary stories of how they were massively affected by the Ebola Virus outbreak and how they came together and played a critical role initiating community awareness activities and helping to defeat the virus. 11

12 UN Women Representative and Gender Minister Embark on Joint Field Assessment and Support Mission Responding, the UN Women Representative expressed delight over the level of courage and resilience demonstrated by the women and said as the global champion for gender equality, they are assured of UN Women s continued support in helping them recover from the shocks of the outbreak. I have heard what you have said and must say that I am so touched by your stories. You the Peace Huts women of Totota are powerful. I don t like to make promises but what I can say is that UN Women is with you. We will do everything to make sure that you stand back on your feet again, explained the UN Women Representative. Also speaking, Liberia s Minister of Gender Children and Social Protection Julia Duncan Cassell said supporting the empowerment of women and girls is the primary mandate of the Ministry and that they are working strategically with all partners to ensure that women are provided the opportunities they need to excel. As I speak to you, the work of the Gender Ministry has been extended to include social welfare and that means allocating resources to that area. Our role is critical and there are so many issues to address so we cannot do it alone that s why we are working with UN Women to help us, Minister Cassell told the women. (L-R) UN Women Representative Awa Ndiaye Seck, Min. Cassell and two female Liberia National Police Officers. As the UN Women Representative and the Minister of Gender Children and Social Protection visited the Peace Huts, a separate UN Women logistical support mission was already in the field presenting anti-ebola materials and furniture for Peace Huts as part of a broader intervention. The joint visits are expected to be continued to other Peace Huts and Women Centers. 12

13 Day? What is Orange Celebrated on the 25th of each month, Orange Day is a day to raise awareness and take action against violence against women and girls. As a bright and optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from violence against women and girls, for the United Nations Secretary General s UNiTE Campaign. Orange Day calls upon activists, governments and UN partners to mobilize people and highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year, on 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), but every month. Break the silence. When you witness violence against women and girls, do not sit back. Act." Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General As the global champion for gender equality, every month UN Women mobilizes the UN Country Team in Liberia to observe the day and wear orange. 13

14 Orange Day Photos Colleagues of UNFPA Liberia join the Orange Day celebration UN Resident Coordinator in Liberia Antonio Vigilante Staff of the African Development Bank Liberia Office UN Women Liberia Country team unites to end violence against women UNHCR Field Office in Zwedrew join in efforts to end violence against women UNICEF Liberia : Some colleagues of WHO Liberia unite to end violence against women 14

15 3 rd Quarter in Pictures (L-R) Movie star Artus Frank, UN Women Representative Awa Ndiaye Seck, and UN Women Deputy Representative Peterson Magoola Three of Liberia s prominent male champions for gender equality UN Women Representative Awa Ndiaye Seck and Gender Minister Julia Duncan Cassell with women of the Weala Peace Hut Sinoe County football team at the Independence Day HeForShe tournament 15

16 About the HeForShe Campaign Created by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), HeForShe is a global effort to engage men and boys in removing the social and cultural barriers that prevent women and girls from achieving their potential. It enlists men and boys as equal partners in the responsible crafting and implementing of a shared vision of gender equality, with norms of gender equality, non-violence and respect, and thus together positively reshaping society. What are the campaign s objectives? The fundamental objective of HeForShe is to change discriminatory behaviors, through building awareness of the importance of gender equality and women s empowerment and the crucial role men can play in their own lives, and at more structural levels in their communities, to end the persisting inequalities faced by women and girls globally.